General Systems Theory, proposed by Osmo A. Wiio, one of the founding fathers of the discipline of public relations in Finland, and other scholars, has a significant impact on the public relations models employed by public relations professionals in Finland. According to the theory, communication is a matter that joins the organization with its environment and an organization must accommodate its approach to communication to changes in the environment (Lehtonen, 2004).

In line with the theory, the predominant model in Finland is a combination of the two-way symmetric model (Grunig & Hunt, 1984) and the model of social role of setting, advising, implementing and evaluating ethical and social responsibility policies proposed (Molleda & Ferguson, 2004). This model is also identified in a recent study about the communication management of the Finnish Consumer Agency, a public organization in charge of disseminating public consumer information in Finland (Eskelinen, 2005).

NOTE: This guide has been compiled by the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, For the works cited in these pages, click here.